Bed-plate and heater for portable steam-engines



(No Model.) 2 SheeEs-Sheet 1.

' R. SGHEIDLER.

BED PLATE AND HEATER FOR PORTABLE STEAM ENGINES.

No. 269,329. Patented Dec. 19, 1882.-

Falgil- N. PEYERS. Phulnrlilhegnpber, wahin tmu. D. C

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

R. SGHEIDLER. BED PLATE AND HEATER FOR PORTABLE STEAM ENGINES. No. 269,329. Patented Dec. 19, 1882..

W I five 7152'. A e: rzZvawZ' 56%(561267? fiaammqw UNITED STATES PATENT Grates.

REINHARD SGHEIDLER, OF NEVARK, OHIO.

BED-PLATE AND HEATER FOR PORTABLE STEAM-ENGINES.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 269,329, dated December 19, 1882.

Application filed October 7,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, REINHARD SOIIEIDLER, a. citizen of the United States, residingat Newark, in the county of Licking and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined. Bed-Plate and lleater for Portable Steam-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a combined bedplate and feed-waterheater for portable steamengines.

My invention relates to a combined bedplate and heater specially constructed and adapted to be used on steam-engines with horizontal boilers.

My invention consists in a horizontal feedwater chamber extending lengthwise of the boiler from and inclusive of a part of the firebox back to the smoke-box. It is oblong, with parallel Y sides. straight, but the under side is curved in crosssection, the broadest or hypotenuse side 'being curved or'concentric with the shell of the boiler to fit closely to the cylindrical shell of the latter. The heater is triangular, or nearly so, in its cross-section. Its main feature consists in the bracket or pillow-block which supports the bearingofthe main shaft, being cast in a single piece (integral) with the heater and having the box divided vertically instead of horizontally, as is ordinarily the case.

The objects of my invention are, first, by boltingthebed-plate and heater with its curved and most widely-extended side in direct contact with the boiler and fire-box, to obtain therefrom all the heat possible, to obviate danger of freezing the water in winter, and to equalize the temperature of the water in the heater with that in the boiler as nearly as possible, so that it shall enter the latter without eoolingits contents; second, by bolting the heater directly to the boiler-shell to prevent strain upon the bolts and obviate the danger of buckling the boiler-sheets from its unequal expansion with the heater and the rigidity of the latter and its fastening-bolts, as is often the case when a space is left between the heater and the boiler. The leverage of strain The top and outer side are upon the boiler-sheets being greatly lessened, the tendency to spring them and to break or loosen the rivets is prevented.

ln casting the bed-plate and heater with its main bearing-box divided vertically the capbolts are horizontal instead ofvertieal, and in direct line with the stroke, of the engine, so that the strain from the latter is lengthwise instead of crosswise of these bolts, and they are not liable to be bent or broken. In ordinary constructions of the main-shaft boxes the cap rests upon the lower half of the box horizontally, and the fastening-boltswhich secure it in place extend vertically into the pillow-block. As the stroke of the engine subjects these bolts to a cross-strain,they become weakened and loosened from their places, the threads become bruised and broken, the holes in the pillow-block in which they areinserted are enlarged, requiring redrilling'and tapping and uecessitating'new and larger bolts in their places, and as these bolts are always made to a gage this renewal entails much expense. Side gibs and set-screws must be resorted to to take up the wear. are dispensed with, and as the take-up of wear (by means of the bolts) is in the line of stroke, danger of getting the main-shaft bearings out of line is avoided. Engines have been made with the cap of the main box bolted on at an angle to the line of the s roke; but these are. also liable to the same difficulty, the strain from the connecting-rod soon loosening them. In my improveinent,the danger of getting the shaft or box out of line beingavoided, the engine will run steadier, wearlonger, and require less power. The solid vertical pillowblock imparts firmness and strength to the engine, and as it is located between a perpendicular line cutting the center of the main shaft and the piston-rod connection or crosshead, itforms a solid point of resistance to the forward stroke of the piston.

Fignrel is a perspective view of my improved bed-plate and heater with the engine mounted thereon. It is shown as attached to the top ofa portable-engine boiler, the latter being shown only in part. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the heater and bed-plate through line ac, showing the bracket or pillow-block which supports the main shaft, as it is seen from the In my improvement these left toward the right on a line with the bedplate in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the pillow-block and a part of the end of the bed-plate and heater, (on the right in Fig. 1,) with the main shaft and crank-wheel removed. Fig. 4 is a top view of the same. Fig. 5, Sheet 2, is a side elevation of the boiler of a portable engine, with a vertical longitudinal section of the bed-plate and heater through the center of the pillow-block. Figs. 6 and 7 are views of the two opposite ends of the boiler, showing the relative position of the heater as attached thereto.

In the drawings, A represents the combined bed-plate and heater. As has already been stated, it is of triangular shape, or nearly so, inside and outside, and has heads bolted on the ends in the usual manner. Its under side next the boiler-shell, as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 6, is much the broadest, and is curved concentric with the boiler-shell B, to which it is closely fitted. Its water-tubesa a liein direct contact with the inner surface of this side, so as to receive all the heat possible from the boiler. By reference to the view Fig. 5 it will be seen that the tubes a a a havea slight inclination from either end of the heater-box downward, to facilitate drainage and allow them, when necessary, to be quickly drained dry, this being essential when repairs are needed or the engine not in use. The bedplate and heater, instead of being supported on blocks or pillars in the manner of ordinary construction, simply has lugs extending from the sides, through which it is fastened to the boiler-shell, so that the body throughout its entire length shall lie on the shell of the boiler. The method of introducing the-exhaust'stcam from the cylinder into the heater is the same as that commonly in use where the engine is set upon the heater.

0 is the pillow-block, which is seen in the several views, consisting of the cytna-reversa bracket forming the one-half of the bearingbox, which is cast integral with the bed-plate and heater. Its vertical or division side cuts the axial line of the shaft, and the cap D is bolted thereto, when the shaftis in place, by the plug-bolts extending horizontally through the flanges ot' the cap into the pillow-block G.

A seat, I), (seen in Figs. 3 and 5,) is accurate ly planed off and finished upon the top of the heater, so that the end of. cap D will fit closely thereto, thus preventing any movement at right angles to the shaft E downwardly, and to prevent any of the weight of the shaft and its attachments upon the bolts.

A combined bed-plate and heater for steamengines is not new, and I do not claiinit or the means of heating it by exhaust-steam as any part of my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. In combination with a horizontal boiler for portable steam-engines, a combined bedplate and heater, the pillow-block or support for the bearing of the main shaft of which is cast in a single piece therewith, and having a vertical division through the center of the boxopening, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with a horizontal boiler for portable steam-engines, a combined bedplate and heater. the pillow-block or support for the main-shaft bearing of which is cast integral therewith, with a vertical division through the center of the box-opening, and having the bolts which secure the cap to said pillow-block extending horizontally into or through the same, for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination witha horizontal boiler for portable steam-engines, a combined bed-plate and heater extending. lengthwise and secured to said boiler, of triangular or nearly triangular cross-section, having the side thereof contacting with the boiler-shell curved or concentric therewith to allow it to lie with its surface on the boiler throughout its whole extent. whereby all the heat possible may be conducted from the boiler to the heaterin addition to that produced from the exhaust-steam, as and 

